I'm Fighting Minato Namikaze! Really or Not?

It was only upon seeing Minato Namikaze that Lihuo truly grasped the terror of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

One second you could be anywhere, doing anything, and the next, you could appear exactly where you wished, provided your Flying Thunder God seal was already there.

Lihuo scrutinized Minato during this period of his life; he wore a navy blue undershirt beneath his jonin flak jacket, his flowing yellow hair swaying in the breeze.

Seeing this attire, Lihuo silently commented in his heart.

He is much younger now than when he was Hokage; his face still carries a hint of immaturity. He is truly just a young man...

Wait, young Minato!

Sorry, sir, I didn't recognize you just now!

It was a pity that no one else could hear Lihuo's lively internal monologue. The Third Hokage patted Minato Namikaze on the shoulder and spoke to Lihuo and his companion.

"Your opponent for the bell test this time is this outstanding Konoha jonin—Minato Namikaze."

Hearing this, Minato smiled with a touch of embarrassment before looking at Lihuo and Kakashi.

"Kakashi and Lihuo, is it? Sakumo-senpai has mentioned you both to me."

"Especially little Lihuo; after our spar, we can discuss ninjutsu together."

Lihuo nodded in response.

"It's a deal then, Minato-senpai."

Oshima-sensei spoke up at the right moment.

"You have thirty minutes to discuss your tactics."

"After thirty minutes, the practical exam will officially begin."

Lihuo and Kakashi nodded. Unlike the theoretical exam, their opponent was Minato Namikaze, and neither dared to take him lightly.

Walking to a spot far from the four examiners, Lihuo looked at Kakashi and found his eyes filled with gravity.

"What's wrong, Kakashi? This doesn't look like you. Aren't you supposed to be a genius?"

"Stop joking around. You saw it too, didn't you? That space-time ninjutsu."

Lihuo's expression turned serious as well.

"Yeah, Minato-senpai is very difficult to deal with."

"I've heard my father mention him; he said he's a genius who only appears once in a century. If he really uses his space-time ninjutsu, how are we supposed to counter it?"

Kakashi was frowning, but Lihuo patted him on the shoulder.

"Alright, don't deflate our own morale. The key is to discuss how to fight him."

"I have a move, though I'm not sure if it will be effective," Lihuo leaned into Kakashi's ear and whispered.

"Your insight is as sharp as ever," Kakashi remarked. "Let's do as you say."

"Don't worry, we'll pass for sure," Lihuo said confidently, patting his chest.

Afterward, the two meticulously planned every detail of their strategy, and the thirty minutes passed in a flash.

When the Third Hokage and the others saw them again, they found both boys brimming with fighting spirit.

"Hahaha, what an impressive aura. Ryunosuke, announce the start of the assessment."

Hearing this, Oshima-sensei immediately exchanged a glance with Minato. Once he confirmed Minato was ready, he announced in a loud voice:

"Practical exam, begin!"

Before the words had even faded, Kakashi charged forward like a cheetah, his movements following the unique footwork of the Hatake Sword Technique, which for a moment made it impossible for Minato to predict his trajectory.

However, Minato was a long-renowned jonin who had been carefully mentored by the Sannin Jiraiya; his strength was beyond doubt.

He didn't rush to deploy his Flying Thunder God kunai, as this was an assessment rather than a life-or-death struggle.

Thus, he exerted force and lunged toward Kakashi. At this moment, Lihuo's gaze sharpened. He placed his hands near his ninja tool pouch, lowered his stance, and found the perfect position to launch an attack.

Once everything was ready, Lihuo raised his hands with lightning speed.

Kunai flew out like bullets from a chamber, colliding in mid-air to rapidly seal off all of Minato's paths.

Seeing this, Minato's expression turned serious, for he knew that if he didn't show some real skill, he might actually be caught off guard.

These two boys were far beyond the level of fresh Ninja Academy graduates; both of them possessed strength approaching that of a chunin.

With that thought, Minato swept his hand across his pouch, and a kunai appeared in his grip.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Accompanied by the sound of clashing metal and flying sparks, Minato quickly struck down the kunai, carving out a path for himself.

But in that split second, Kakashi had already arrived right in front of him.

The two engaged in a fierce taijutsu battle, exchanging dozens of blows in an instant.

A clash of this intensity would be difficult for an ordinary chunin to follow.

Yet, those present included two Kage-level powerhouses, a retired Anbu, and an Uchiha genius with a cheat code; all three of them could clearly see the intensity of the battle.

It was clear that Minato was holding back; after all, this was a graduation exam for the Ninja Academy, not a Chunin exam.

If Minato had truly gone all out, Kakashi and Lihuo would have had no chance of victory whatsoever.

Even so, Minato was still subtly suppressing Kakashi, forcing him to retreat as he fought.

Lihuo noticed Kakashi's waning momentum, yet he remained standing where he was, as if brewing something.

Gradually, Lihuo's harassment slowed down, which only added to the pressure on Kakashi.

Minato seized an opening and sent Kakashi flying with a single palm strike. No one noticed that a line of fine, intricate text had been imprinted onto Kakashi's chest.

If anyone had observed closely, they would have seen four characters clearly written there:

"Sword of Ninja Love!"

It was Minato's Flying Thunder God Technique formula!

And the moment Minato sent Kakashi flying, Lihuo moved!

After all, it's Minato. Even if it's not a Rasengan, the recovery time is still easy to exploit.

Lihuo's leg muscles tensed, and he stomped hard against the ground. Chakra erupted beneath his feet, and he shot forward like a cannonball, his target aimed straight at the bells at Minato's waist!

From start to finish, their goal was never to defeat Minato, but to seize the bells!

But how could Minato not notice? Even though Lihuo had caught him in his recovery frame, he didn't panic in the slightest.

Watching Lihuo charge toward him, Minato groaned inwardly.

If Kakashi's footwork is bizarre but lacks sufficient power, then Lihuo is the type to overcome ten thousand techniques with a single force!

Without much hesitation, his rich combat experience told Minato that he had to move immediately.

Facing Lihuo, who had already reached him, Minato remained calm. He shifted his body to the side, perfectly dodging the hand Lihuo had extended to snatch the bells!

This perfect escape demonstrated Minato's superior combat awareness.

Just then, something happened that exceeded everyone's expectations.

The bells had flown away on their own!

The culprit behind all this was none other than Lihuo! He had guessed that Minato would dodge his attack, so he had utilized the "Simplified Frog Kumite" during his strike!

Laymen watch the spectacle, while experts watch the technique; unfortunately, everyone present was an expert.

Almost at a single glance, they understood how Lihuo had used this move.

"Heh, that is truly an ingenious way to utilize chakra," Orochimaru couldn't help but exclaim.

"Indeed. Although it is a small trick, it has great utility," the Third Hokage remarked.

Minato also discovered that the bells had vanished. Just as he wanted to retrieve them, Kakashi blocked his path.

"Sorry, but I can't let you pass."

Lihuo erupted with astonishing speed, aiming to quickly seize the bells!

Yet Minato felt no concern at all. He quickly threw a kunai, which pinned itself precisely next to the bells.

Seeing this, Lihuo, who was sprinting at full tilt, felt his pupils constrict, and he was just about to retreat.

A flash of gold! Minato Namikaze appeared right beside the bells.

"You two are truly impressive. It's a bit taxing not to use the Flying Thunder God Technique."

Lihuo knew Minato was just being modest. As a Jonin, his strength was more than enough to crush the two of them.

It was just that Minato was deliberately suppressing his power, turning himself into a "mechanic monster" with normal stats but disgusting mechanics!

Seeing Minato pull out more Flying Thunder God kunai, Lihuo retreated instantly, throwing his own kunai as he backed away to disrupt the formation of Minato's blades.

But no matter how hard Kakashi and Lihuo tried, the Flying Thunder God kunai were already scattered all over the ground.

Minato said sternly, "You two, you're about to lose!"

Lihuo grinned at these words.

"Who said we were going to lose?"

"Since you've asked with such sincerity—"

Minato: (･_･;

"—I'll show you the mercy of telling you!"

"Didn't you notice this is flat ground? That's right, we intentionally let you leave the woods."

Minato: I really didn't ask, why are you explaining it all on your own?

"We anticipated you would use the Flying Thunder God. Just now, we used our kunai to interfere with the trajectory of your Flying Thunder God kunai."

"Take a look now—are the landing spots of your Flying Thunder God kunai the same as you expected?"

Hearing this, Minato's expression couldn't help but turn grave. It was true; the kunai he had originally thrown were meant to be scattered to provide more mobility.

Now, after the interference from Lihuo and the others, the dispersion of the kunai had been greatly reduced.

"It seems you've already realized it," Lihuo said.

"I wonder if you've also noticed that I haven't used a single ninjutsu since the start!"

As he spoke, Lihuo performed hand seals rapidly, his chakra pouring out as if his life depended on it!

"Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique!"